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Family And Civil Rights Leaders Mourn Andrew Brown Jr. At Funeral

At the funeral of Andrew Brown, Jr., Rev. Al Sharpton gave his second eulogy in two weeks for a Black man killed by law enforcement. "You've got to be subject to the law whether you've got on blue jeans or a blue uniform," he said.
Gerry Broome
/
AP
At the funeral of Andrew Brown, Jr., Rev. Al Sharpton gave his second eulogy in two weeks for a Black man killed by law enforcement. "You've got to be subject to the law whether you've got on blue jeans or a blue uniform," he said.

Updated May 3, 2021 at 12:35 PM ET

Family, friends and civil rights advocates are gathering Monday for the funeral of Andrew Brown Jr., in Elizabeth City, N.C., as the circumstances of his death remained unclear. The Rev. Al Sharpton will give the eulogy.

Brown, a 42-year-old Black man, was shot and killed in his car by Pasquotank County Sheriff's deputies as they arrived to carry out search and arrest warrants related to several drug-related charges.

His family has described his death as an "execution." Relatives and their lawyers were shown a 20-second excerpt of footage from one officer's body camera. An independent autopsy commissioned by the family showed Brown was struck by five bullets, including a fatal shot to the back of his head.

Authorities say Brown was trying to drive away and struck deputies, prompting them to shoot.

The body-worn camera footage has not yet been made public, despite calls from family and public officials alike.

Along with Rev. Sharpton, speakers at Brown's funeral are expected to include high-profile civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump, who is representing Brown's family, and the president of North Carolina's chapter of the NAACP, Rev. T. Anthony Spearman. You can watch a livestream of the private funeral, courtesy of NBC News.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Funeral Services For Andrew Brown Jr. | NBC News

Becky Sullivan has reported and produced for NPR since 2011 with a focus on hard news and breaking stories. She has been on the ground to cover natural disasters, disease outbreaks, elections and protests, delivering stories to both broadcast and digital platforms.
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